Spot the Dog: 30 funds in Bestinvest's £33.6bn den of shame

Fund management is a dog eat dog world, and the consequences for underperformance can be ruff – such as inclusion in Bestinvest's 'Spot the Dog' report.

The report doggedly evaluates UK open-ended funds to find the 'dogs' of each sector making a canine's dinner of things by underperforming their benchmarks by at least 5% for more than three 12-month periods.

The 'Spot the Dog' report then collars asset management companies according to the amount of assets they have in these bad boys.

Tilney identified 58 funds dog funds in this report, a sharpincrease on the unusually low number of 26 funds that appeared in its last report at the start of the year.

The level of assets languishing in dog funds has risen even more dramatically, soaring from £6.4 billion at the start of the year to £33.6 billion.

Read on to find out which 10 fund firms came bottom of the pack - who between them responsible for 30 doghouse funds - and which holds the position of 'top dog'.

Leave a comment!

Please sign in or register to comment. It is free to register and only takes a minute or two.

5. Fidelity

Number of dogs: 3

Value of dogs: £1.8 billion

Previous spot the dog ranking: 2

What Bestinvest said:

'Fidelity retains a top-five ranking, adding one more fund but over £800 million of assets since the start of the year.

'Fidelity Japan is a repeat offender from last time and while Fidelity American has thankfully now escaped under a new master, it has handed over the baton to its close relative the Fidelity American Special Situations fund, which is flagged by the firm’s online platform as a Select 50 top pick.

Value of dogs: £1.9 billion

Previous spot the dog ranking: 1

What Bestinvest said:

'Aberdeen Asset Management, which merged with Standard Life in 2017, has been prominent in Spot the Dog in recent years, at one time having 11 funds included, so its retreat from the top slot will be relatively welcome news.

'Nevertheless, the number of Aberdeen Standard funds featured at five is the same as last time, despite all but one fund being different from those in the last edition.

'Frustratingly the level of assets has actually gone up and on top of these own-brand funds, Aberdeen Standard has also been the underlying manager of two other funds in Spot the Dog, including the St. James’s Place Ethical fund from which its management contract has just been terminated.'

Leave a comment!

Please sign in or register to comment. It is free to register and only takes a minute or two.

3. Janus Henderson

Number of dogs: 2

Value of dogs: £2.3 billion

Previous spot the dog ranking: 9

What Bestinvest said:

'Fund giant Janus Henderson, the result of a merger between UK firm Henderson and US manager Janus, has worked its way up the rankings from 9th to 3rd place in this edition, with two completely new incumbents in the kennel.

'These are Janus Henderson European Selected Opportunities, a former Gartmore fund which was many years ago one of the most popular European funds in the industry, and the much smaller Janus Henderson World Select fund.

'The Janus Henderson European Selected Opportunities fund is one of a number of funds managed by veteran manager John Bennett whose long-term record has been strong but who has lagged over the last couple of years.'

Leave a comment!

Please sign in or register to comment. It is free to register and only takes a minute or two.

2. JP Morgan Asset Management

Number of dogs: 1

Value of dogs: £3.5 billion

Previous spot the dog ranking: N/A

What Bestinvest said:

'JP Morgan owes its second place ranking to a single but sizeable fund, the £3.47 billion JPM US Equity Income fund.

'In our view this is down to the income seeking strategy being out of favour with market trends. In recent years the performance of the US market has been firmly led by ‘growth’ companies including the so-called FAANG technology and new media giants that include the likes of Facebook and Netflix.

'Tech shares now account for a quarter of the US market. The JPM US Equity Income fund has relatively low exposure to such companies and instead its brief is to focus on reliable, dividend-generating companies.

'However, in tougher market conditions this fund is likely to prove more defensive than most US funds.'

Leave a comment!

Please sign in or register to comment. It is free to register and only takes a minute or two.

Leave a comment!

Fund management is a dog eat dog world, and the consequences for underperformance can be ruff – such as inclusion in Bestinvest's 'Spot the Dog' report.

The report doggedly evaluates UK open-ended funds to find the 'dogs' of each sector making a canine's dinner of things by underperforming their benchmarks by at least 5% for more than three 12-month periods.

The 'Spot the Dog' report then collars asset management companies according to the amount of assets they have in these bad boys.

Tilney identified 58 funds dog funds in this report, a sharpincrease on the unusually low number of 26 funds that appeared in its last report at the start of the year.

The level of assets languishing in dog funds has risen even more dramatically, soaring from £6.4 billion at the start of the year to £33.6 billion.

Read on to find out which 10 fund firms came bottom of the pack - who between them responsible for 30 doghouse funds - and which holds the position of 'top dog'.

Leave a comment!

Please sign in or register to comment. It is free to register and only takes a minute or two.

Fund management is a dog eat dog world, and the consequences for underperformance can be ruff – such as inclusion in Bestinvest's 'Spot the Dog' report.

The report doggedly evaluates UK open-ended funds to find the 'dogs' of each sector making a canine's dinner of things by underperforming their benchmarks by at least 5% for more than three 12-month periods.

The 'Spot the Dog' report then collars asset management companies according to the amount of assets they have in these bad boys.

Tilney identified 58 funds dog funds in this report, a sharpincrease on the unusually low number of 26 funds that appeared in its last report at the start of the year.

The level of assets languishing in dog funds has risen even more dramatically, soaring from £6.4 billion at the start of the year to £33.6 billion.

Read on to find out which 10 fund firms came bottom of the pack - who between them responsible for 30 doghouse funds - and which holds the position of 'top dog'.

Leave a comment!

Please sign in or register to comment. It is free to register and only takes a minute or two.

5. Fidelity

Number of dogs: 3

Value of dogs: £1.8 billion

Previous spot the dog ranking: 2

What Bestinvest said:

'Fidelity retains a top-five ranking, adding one more fund but over £800 million of assets since the start of the year.

'Fidelity Japan is a repeat offender from last time and while Fidelity American has thankfully now escaped under a new master, it has handed over the baton to its close relative the Fidelity American Special Situations fund, which is flagged by the firm’s online platform as a Select 50 top pick.

Value of dogs: £1.9 billion

Previous spot the dog ranking: 1

What Bestinvest said:

'Aberdeen Asset Management, which merged with Standard Life in 2017, has been prominent in Spot the Dog in recent years, at one time having 11 funds included, so its retreat from the top slot will be relatively welcome news.

'Nevertheless, the number of Aberdeen Standard funds featured at five is the same as last time, despite all but one fund being different from those in the last edition.

'Frustratingly the level of assets has actually gone up and on top of these own-brand funds, Aberdeen Standard has also been the underlying manager of two other funds in Spot the Dog, including the St. James’s Place Ethical fund from which its management contract has just been terminated.'

Leave a comment!

Please sign in or register to comment. It is free to register and only takes a minute or two.

3. Janus Henderson

Number of dogs: 2

Value of dogs: £2.3 billion

Previous spot the dog ranking: 9

What Bestinvest said:

'Fund giant Janus Henderson, the result of a merger between UK firm Henderson and US manager Janus, has worked its way up the rankings from 9th to 3rd place in this edition, with two completely new incumbents in the kennel.

'These are Janus Henderson European Selected Opportunities, a former Gartmore fund which was many years ago one of the most popular European funds in the industry, and the much smaller Janus Henderson World Select fund.

'The Janus Henderson European Selected Opportunities fund is one of a number of funds managed by veteran manager John Bennett whose long-term record has been strong but who has lagged over the last couple of years.'

Leave a comment!

Please sign in or register to comment. It is free to register and only takes a minute or two.

2. JP Morgan Asset Management

Number of dogs: 1

Value of dogs: £3.5 billion

Previous spot the dog ranking: N/A

What Bestinvest said:

'JP Morgan owes its second place ranking to a single but sizeable fund, the £3.47 billion JPM US Equity Income fund.

'In our view this is down to the income seeking strategy being out of favour with market trends. In recent years the performance of the US market has been firmly led by ‘growth’ companies including the so-called FAANG technology and new media giants that include the likes of Facebook and Netflix.

'Tech shares now account for a quarter of the US market. The JPM US Equity Income fund has relatively low exposure to such companies and instead its brief is to focus on reliable, dividend-generating companies.

'However, in tougher market conditions this fund is likely to prove more defensive than most US funds.'

Leave a comment!

Please sign in or register to comment. It is free to register and only takes a minute or two.

In the final part of our interview with Paul Feeney, the Quilter chief executive declares that the government has 'left the ring' on savings policy, rounds on robo-advice, and reveals his own experience of the DB transfer market.

We use cookies to give you the best experience on our website. You can continue to use the website and we'll assume that you are happy to receive cookies. If you would like to, you can find out more about cookies and managing them at any time here. This site is for Professional Investors only, please read our Risk Disclosure Notice for Citywire’s general investment warnings

We use cookies to improve your experience. By your continued use of this site you accept such use. To change your settings please see our policy.